Can It Be True
by BlueRoseLady
Summary: Rose is an ordinary girl, or so she thinks. She finds out that her father is a vampire while her mother is human and she is the only one of her kind, and people want to capture her because she has some ability that she doesnt know of yet.
1. Prolongue

Prologue

Anna stepped into the magnificent ballroom where people were dancing elegantly or talking to one another. She walked in alone, and she could tell that any of the girls in the room felt pity for her, for they all had dates, and she, being one of the most stunning girls in the room, should have one too. But she didn't, there for she walked in alone.

She looked around and found herself being in the most magnificent room she had ever been in. The dome stood tall above the ground and was painted by a great artist who had made great pictures with the brightly colored paints. It was painted differently around the rest of the room. Any artifacts that had been in the room were now gone so people could dance. The orchestra stood in the front of the room playing elegantly like they had practiced many times over.

She walked down the beautifully carved steps and into the crowd of twirling people.

She found no one she knew and chose to sit at a table that had only been brought in for the party.

She knew that sooner or later someone would come and ask her to dance. She knew that boys fell for her when they first looked at her, but she didn't like the fact. She absolutely hated it. Because she was beautiful, she did not have many friends. All the girls were jealous of her, even if she politely sent the drooling boys away. They still were not convinced that she wouldn't take their boyfriends. But still, some people figured out that she wouldn't do this and they quickly became her friend.

She only had to wait for maybe two minutes and someone started coming toward her.

He was cute actually, very cute and she wondered why he was here alone. He was dressed in a black tux, like any other guy, and held a little red rose in his hand. His hair was brown, but it was his eyes that made her melt. They were a peculiar color, a light purple, but that didn't matter. They were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. It seemed that she could see a little into his soul, just looking at them. She loved his smile too. It could make any girl faint.

"May I have this dance?" He said passing her the flower.

She set it on the table behind her, smiled, and said, "Yes you may."

He took her waiting hand and brought her out to the crowed of dancing people.

Soon, they themselves were dancing. She looked around and found that many were staring at them and had stopped dancing, and they were making a circle for them to dance in. She looked back at the man and he didn't seem to mind, so she didn't either.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Anna. What about you?" She questioned.

"I am Zxander. It is nice to meet you, Anna."

"Nice to meet you too, Zxander."

"You're a very nice dancer, and a very beautiful lady."

She smiled and blushed a tiny bit. "Well, thank you. You're not so bad yourself. Very handsome. It's a wonder how you came here alone."

"People could ask the same question for you, Anna."

"Well maybe they should keep their nose out of my business."

"May I ask?"

"Ask what?"

"Why you are alone?"

She sighed. "It's a mix between jealousy of other girls, and I just haven't found the right guy yet. I have thought that I had the right guy before, but obviously I still have to find him. May I ask you the same question?" I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"It's the same as yours, love. Not any different."

"Ah, I see."

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away."

"May I kiss you?"

She paused for a minute, stunned that he asked, because usually they don't. She smiled at him, pleased that he had asked, and told him, "Yes you may."

He made a dip for the end of the dance, and then, he leaned down and kissed her. As they stood up, they didn't break the kiss. Finally Anna broke it, taking in a breath. She heard applause all around her, and as she looked around, she found that everyone in the room was applauding.

She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"That was amazing," she said.

"What, the dance or the kiss?" He asked.

"Both," she whispered in his ear. She led him away from the dance floor and no one saw either of them for the rest of the night.

A few weeks later, Anna finds out that she is pregnant. Of course, like any girl would, she freaks out, knowing who the father would turn out to be.

When she reached her house, she called Zxander to tell him the news.

"Hello?"

"Zxander?" She herself could hear the worry in her voice.

"Yes, who is this?" He asked.

"This is Anna."

"Oh, hi. What did you want?" She could tell that he could hear the worry in her voice as well, but he didn't seem to ask about it.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm pregnant," she said.

He didn't answer.

"Zxander?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes," he said his voice sounding urgent and serious. She could also hear fear mixed in it lightly.

"Ok," she answered and hung up the phone.

He was there in about five minutes, ringing the doorbell.

She got up off the couch that she had been sitting on, waiting for him, and opened the door. He stepped in and quickly closed the door behind him.

"Are you going to get an abortion?" He asked, looking her in the eyes.

"I-I don't know, I haven't really thought about it yet. Why?"

"I need to know. Give me a yes or no answer."

She took a deep breath, thinking it through. "No," she finally answered.

He took a deep breath too. "Are you sure? After I tell you this, you can't change it. You have to live with it. Now, think hard, are you absolutely sure?" The worry was plain on his face and fear covered his voice.

She couldn't look at him. "If I get an abortion, it is like murdering the baby. I'm not going to do that." She shook her head, not accepting the idea of killing the baby that was growing inside her.

He closed his eyes. "That's true." He took a deep breath. "Ok, I am going to tell you something that no one else can know. That is the most important part and I want you to remember that. You cannot tell anyone else. Do you understand?"

She was kind of scared, but nodded any way. "I understand."

"Please understand that I am not trying to scare you, or trick you, or anything. This is the cold, sad truth."

She looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"Know and understand that I love you, and I will stay with you through everything, if you want me to."

"I love you too, Zxander." She placed her hand on his cheek, looking into his eyes and searching for answers she couldn't find. "Could you please tell me? You're kind of scaring me." They were very close, just staring at each other.

He closed his eyes again, thinking, and then opened them slowly. He took her hand off his cheek very slowly, but still held it lightly. It seemed as if he was ready for her to rip her hand out of his. "There is a reason why my eyes are purple. And I'm going to tell you that reason." He sighed. "I'm not your average human. I am stronger, faster, and more beautiful. There is only one reason why I am like that. It is because I am a vampire. I was born to two vampires. They are strong believers that humans and vampires can live together in peace. So they have learned, and taught me, how to ignore human blood and drink animal blood. I am no danger to you. I can barely smell your blood."

"You tell me all of this now? What does this have to do with the baby?" She still held his hand and he seemed surprised by this.

"Our child is going to be half human and half vampire. It will be the first of its kind because no vampire has ever fallen in love with a human before. And if they have, then they have changed the human. Look, I'm sorry this happened. I didn't mean for it to happen. I'll get you everything that you should need and I'll help you, if you want me to, that is." He paused for a minute. He held her hand tighter and said, "Could you say something, please?"

She was looking off into space and said, "Our child is going to be half human and half vampire, and it will be the first of its kind?" She looked at him. "That's just not fair! Well I guess that's how it goes when you fall for a vampire. Oh, wait, you wanted to know if I wanted you to help, and to that I say, of course! I can't take care of a child on my own, let alone one that is half vampire. And I still love you." She smiled at him. She hugged him tightly. "I will still love you, no matter what you are, what you did, or what you do."

He hugged her back. "Thank you." He kissed her lightly.

When she pulled away, she said, "You're lucky I'm not a vegetarian, other wise this would never work out." She laughed a little and so did he.

"Yes, that would not be good." He laughed.

"Ok, back to the baby. Do I have to do anything different than I would in a regular pregnancy? Please don't tell me that I have to drink blood."

"It might help. I'm not quite sure what will happen because, as I've said before, this has never happened before. I'm going to have to call my parents. That'll be a joy to do. May I use your phone?"

"Of course," she said and went to show him the phone.

"Thank you."

He dialed the number, fingers too quick for Anna to know what numbers he was pressing, and then he put the phone to his ear and listened.

Someone picked up because she could hear a faint hello, and then he answered, "Mom?"

There was a short pause; Anna couldn't tell what the answer was.

"Yes, this is me, mom."

Another short pause.

"Mom… mom… mom listen!"

She must have stopped talking because nothing came out of the phone's receiver.

"I need you and dad's help. Can you come…" He looked at Anna. "to my house?"

Another short pause.

"Ok, thank you, mom." And he hung up the phone. "Are you ok with me bringing my parents over here, or do you want to come to my house, or should I just talk to them?" He asked.

"Well, we can go to your house or you can bring them here. Your choice." She smiled at him.

"Are you even ok to go over there?"

"Zxander, it's only the third week. I'm fine."

He sighed. "Well, then, maybe we should go over there, but we are going to have to go faster than car. They are probably already half way there. I'm going to have to carry you. Is that ok?"

"Of course." She held out her hand.

He took it and pulled her into him, then picked her up bridal style, opening the door at the same time, and then closed it as he ran out and on to his house. They were there in a second.

Zxander set her down and she walked over to the couch, falling on it dizzily.

"Sorry, that was a little fast for a first time. Are you ok?"

She blinked up at him then shook her head, trying to clear it. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just let me lay here for a bit," she said, still blinking.

He smiled and chuckled a little. "Ok, my parents will be here in a minute."

And he was right. A minute passed and there was a knock on the door.

Zxander took a deep breath and went to open the door. He obviously didn't know what he was going to say. Anna sat up, she wanted to make a good first impression, or as good as she could make it.

He opened the door and his parents rushed in.

"What's wrong?"

"What did you need our help for?"

They came in, exploding with questions.

"Mom, dad, stop with the questions! None of your guesses are going to be right!"

They stopped immediately, listening to what he said.

"Well then what is correct, Zxander?" His dad asked.

Zxander sighed and led them over to Anna.

"Mom, dad, this is Anna. Anna, this is my mom and dad."

"She's human," his dad said.

"And she's pregnant," his mom said. She turned back to her son. "Why did you have us come here? Just to meet her? I thought you said you needed help?"

It was quiet for a minute, then Anna saw his mom's eyes widen in shock and horror.

"Please don't tell me that you mean that…"

"Yes, mom. That's exactly what I mean," Zxander said, his head down trying not to look at them.

"But how?"

"I've fallen in love with her. You always said that vampires and humans should learn how to live in peace. Well, this is my contribution." He finally looked up at them with a hard look.

"Yes, we said that, but we didn't mean fall in love with them or have a child! We only meant not killing them!"

"I can't help it, mom." He walked over to Anna, kneeling next to her and taking her hand in his. "I love her and now I need your help."

She was quiet for a moment then she said, "I don't know if I can help you. As you well know, this has never happened before, but you are my son, and this will be my grandchild, so I'll help as much as I possibly can."

"I will too." This was the first time his dad had said anything in a while, so it surprised Anna for sure, but she didn't know about the rest of them.

"Thank you," Zxander said, gratefully.

"Now, do you have any questions so far, my dear?" His mom asked her.

"Well-" She started, but was cut off by his father.

"You told her everything, right? Please tell me you did."

"Yes, dad, I told her my story when she decided she was going to keep the child."

"So rude!" His mom snapped. "Now, what were you going to say, dear?"

"Uh, I was wondering if I should still go to the hospital, or would it be safer not to?"

"It would keep the secret safer, but not you or the child, so you should still go to the hospital for check ups regularly and, by no means, are you going to give birth to that child at home. But I do advise you not to get one of those camera things that they look at the baby with. I hear they can do that now, but I can't seem to remember what they're called."

"That's ok, I know what you mean. I guess I won't know if it's a boy or a girl until it's born." She smiled.

"Yes, I guess that's true." She smiled back. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I should tell you our names. I'm Peggy and my husband is Steve. I know, really odd names for vampires, but that's what our parents picked. What can you do?" She said shrugging.

Anna smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you hungry, dear? This has to be exhausting. First, finding out that you're pregnant, then that your boyfriend, and father of the child, is a vampire and your child is going to be half human and half vampire, and finally, meeting your boyfriend's parents. Wow, that's a lot just saying it! So you have to be hungry."

"I am a little, thank you."

"Yes, I'll be right back. Zxander, do you have any food here, or do I have to go and get some?"

"I don't have anything that she would eat."

"All I needed was a yes or no. I'll be back in a bit," Peggy said.

"Thank you!" Anna called as she left.

They waited half an hour, talking about how Zxander and Anna met with Zxander's dad, and she was back with some food, already baked, grilled, or whatever you wanted to call it. It looked delicious.

Anna didn't realize how hungry she actually was until she put the first bite in her mouth. It was all gone in about fifteen minutes, and she was still hungry.

"Still hungry?" Peggy asked.

"A little," she answered.

"I figured, I couldn't remember if that would have been enough for me when I was pregnant, so I just bought that. Don't look at her like that!" She said turning to the boys. "She has to fill two stomachs now because of you," she said waving a hand at Zxander. "Let her eat what she wants. But, honey, please try to get a balanced diet," she said, turning back to Anna. "I hear that women who don't end up badly."

"Did you eat a balanced diet?" Anna asked.

"Of course. I drank as much blood as I could. Oh, we can't eat human food, dear," she said when she saw Anna's face change. "It either tastes horrible to us or it kills us an hour later, we aren't quite sure which. We haven't found it necessary to find out."

"Oh," Anna said still a little horror struck. "But does that mean the baby is going to die if I feed it food? And do I have to drink blood?"

"Well, since the child will be part human, I don't believe it would have any affect on it if you give it food. And the other question, well, I was hoping to tell you later, but, since you asked, you will have to drink an ounce of blood a day at least. But it can be your blood; it just has to be blood, one ounce. You can take it like bad medicine if you want; you just have to have blood."

"Oh, well, that's nice. I either break the law or I become a cutter. That's really nice," Anna said sarcastically.

"Well, if you drink animal blood, you wouldn't exactly be breaking the law," Zxander offered.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Give me some. I haven't had my "medicine" today."

"Medicine, nice," Zxander said.

"Yeah, well, I have to call it something."

"True," he said and left, then entered again with an ounce of blood in a glass in his hand. He handed it to her and she took it hesitantly.

"I got you the best kind, to me. But I don't think I'm going to tell you what animal it is."

"That's probably a good idea," Anna said nodding. She sighed. "Well, here goes." She closed her eyes, put the cup to her lips, then tipped it up and drank it.

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be but it still tasted horrid. But she figured she could handle it.

"Hmm, obviously she didn't like it, but we never assumed she would, so you're ok, Anna," Peggy said. "Now, for the matter of where she's going to stay. Where do you feel more comfortable at, here or would you like to come to our house?"

Anna frowned. "Why can't I stay at my house?"

"Because you need blood every day and you obviously don't have any there, and I assume you don't have enough room for all of us there. So we can help you with any problems you may have," Peggy answered.

"Oh, I see. Well, I have never been to your house. I think I would be more comfortable staying here, if you don't mind." She smiled.

"No problem, dear. Zxander, find her some place to sleep," Peggy said giving him a harsh look.

"Um, can I stay with him? I'm sorry, but I would like to."

"Ok, but we don't really sleep, at all."

"That's ok, I can stay right here."

"Ok, dear. Uh, I think your father and I are going to find something to eat, ok?" She said, turning to Zxander.

Zxander nodded. "Go ahead," he said as he kneeled in front of Anna. Then they were left alone. "Are you ok?"

She smiled. "Maybe a bit overwhelmed, but yes. I'm fine. I love you."

He kissed her. "I love you too," he said. "Now, go to sleep. You need your rest. Good night," he said then kissed her on the forehead.

"Don't leave, please."

"Where am I going to go? It's my house."

And with that, she slowly drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I looked up and there he was. The one guy I had ever fallen for, and he was my best friend. Whenever I looked at him, I wondered if he felt the same way. But I knew he only thought of me as a friend, nothing more and nothing less, just a really good friend.

His hair was brown and a little wavy. I'm not talking about a light brown; I'm talking about a really dark brown like on the verge of black, but not quite. It grew down to about his nose except for his bangs, which grew just above the eyes. His eyes were a chocolaty brown, lighter than his hair, and his skin was tanned lightly, all the time. He had high check bones and he always had a smile on his face.

"Hey, Rose." Oh yeah, and his voice was like velvet.

"Hey, John," I said casually, like I always did, and went back to reading my book. It was called _Stardust_ and it was one of my favorite books. Yes, if you were wondering, we were in the library.

He sat down next to me. "Are you reading that book again? Doesn't that get boring to reread that all the time?"

"No," I answered, not taking my eyes off the book.

"Oh, come on. You have to get tired of it sometime."

I put the bookmark back in and closed the book, looking at him. He was smiling at me, of course. I smiled back. "What do you want, John?"

"What, I can't say hi to my best friend without it being World War III? That's harsh."

"You know what I mean. You obviously want something, because you know better than to bug me when I'm reading."

"I was just wondering what you were doing, that's all. Go back to reading if you want."

"Nope, you've made me put the bookmark in. You better tell me what you want, or I'm going to have to kill you."

"Fine, I was wondering if you were ready to go home."

"Why?"

"Because I want to walk you home."

"Sure, John." I got up and walked out of the library, John following behind me.

"Hey, wait up!" He ran up beside me. "I said I would walk you home, not walk behind you."

"Well, that's your fault. You need to keep up."

"Yeah, right, you know I can't keep up with you. It has always been that way."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, and I still haven't figured it out, so don't ask me." We laughed and it was quiet for a second.

"You know, a lot of girls have been asking me out."

I looked at him, but he wasn't looking at me. Where was he going with this? "And?"

"And they're all cute."

Ok, now I was starting to get angry. "Like who?" I asked trying to be casual, but not succeeding.

He looked up, hearing the edge in my voice.

"Like Cindy Harmon."

I looked straight ahead. "Cindy Harmon is a slut. Did you answer any of them?"

"Yes, I have answered them. All of them."

"Which one did you choose?" I said anger and hurt creeping into my voice.

"Well, that's why I wanted to walk you home."

I turned back to him. "Why? So you can tell me who your new girlfriend is and brag about how cute she is? If so, then count me out." I turned around and started walking.

He ran up and stood in front of me. I measured up to his chin and I had to look up at him.

"I'm not telling you anything. I'm asking you. I said no to all of those girls. There is only one reason why and it is because I'm in love with someone else."

The anger slowly slid away from my face as awe and love replaced it.

"That one person is someone I have known my whole life and she is, to me, the most perfect girl for me."

I had tears in my eyes. I never thought this day would ever come, but here it was, right in front of me.

"Rose, you are that girl. I fell in love with you sometime from when we met and now, and I want you to be my girlfriend, if you want to."

I was hyperventilating and couldn't speak.

"Rose, calm down." He brought me over to a nearby bench and I sat down.

I took slower breaths, trying to calm myself. When I could finally speak, I said, "John, you don't know how long I've waited for you to ask me that. I have waited patiently, and sometimes impatiently, but now that you have asked me, I only have one thing to say." I looked up at him. He looked worried and afraid. "Will you, finally, kiss me?"

He smiled at me, pleased with my request, and he leaned down and kissed me and I kissed him back.

I felt many different feelings. Of course I loved the feeling, but I also felt like I wanted to rip him to shreds. I didn't know why, but I just wanted to live in the moment, for now.

It felt like we were there forever. I didn't want to leave, but I knew I had to.

"John, I have to get home. You know how up tight my mom is. She'd kill me if I were out too late. I still have to take my medicine."

"What medicine is that?" He kissed me again.

"You know, I've told you before. It's supposed to help me grow or something. I don't know." He kissed me again.

"Ok, you should go, but let me walk you the rest of the way."

"Ok." One more short kiss then he pulled me off the bench and walked me the rest of the way home, still holding my and seeming not to let go for anything.

"Goodbye, John."

He kissed me one last time and whispered, "Goodbye, Rose."

I walked up the path and to the door. I opened it, and then closed it behind me, leaning heavily on it, and sighing. I closed my eyes and thought only of what just happened. I couldn't believe it.

I heard my mom's voice saying, "Rose, why are you so-" she didn't finish. She had come around the corner and was staring at me. "What are you doing?" She changed her question.

I stood up quickly. "Nothing." I didn't look at her. She knew when I was lying.

"Have you fallen in love?"

See, she always knew. "No." I was still lying.

She smiled faintly, but it was gone in a second and her eyes grew wide. "Who is he?" She seemed worried.

I looked at her, confused as to why she was acting this way. I closed my eyes, looked to the floor, and sighed. "John," I whispered.

I braced myself for the yelling, but it didn't come. I was surprised. I mean, I was sixteen and I was going to be a sophomore. I knew I was old enough to have a boyfriend, but I didn't think mom wanted me to, so that's what I was braced for. Instead she turned around and walked into the kitchen. I followed her.

She grabbed the phone and dialed quickly.

"Zxander, get over here, now." There was a pause as my dad said something. "No, Zxander, it's time." She hung up the phone. I was still confused and I wanted to know what it was 'time' for.

"Mom, why did you just tell dad to come home from work?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but didn't get a chance to because my dad came through the door and walked over to her. How did he get here so fast?

"Who is it?" He asked her.

How did he know? Mom didn't say anything about it.

"John," she answered.

"John?" He looked back at me, noticing that I was confused, but choosing to ignore it. "I guess we're just lucky it wasn't sooner. I would have much rather not have it at all, but we have to tell her sometime."

My eyes grew. "Just because I have a boyfriend doesn't mean you need to tell me anything. Please don't. I'm making it easier on you and on me. Just don't. I already know."

"That's not what we're going to tell you. It has nothing to do with John, well, it might, but only if you want it to. God, that doesn't help much. You know what, I'm just going to tell you. Come into the living room and sit down."

I did as he said, but reluctantly. "If you are seriously going to talk to me about what I think you're going to talk to me about, just don't. I swear to you, I'll do anything you want, just don't talk about this."

"Rose, I already told you, it isn't what you think. Now, let's see, where should I begin?"

"Start with us," mom said.

Ok, now I was confused. I've never heard the story before, but I was sure it had nothing to do with what I was thinking before.

"Right, I'll do that." He took a deep breath and turned to face me. "Your mom and I, we met at a ball, a party you might call it now. I had noticed her as soon as she came in the door, as well as a lot of other guys. Your mom was very beautiful, and still is, and she caught the eyes of many boys. But because of this, she had little friends and every girl envied her, but instead of walking in with one of her admirers, she walked in alone, and sat at an empty table. You could say that I was in the same boat. Many liked me, but I didn't like any of them.

"I walked over to her, giving her a rose, and asking her to dance. She said yes and I led her out on the dance floor. We danced so beautifully that anyone else on the floor stopped dancing to watch us. We told each other our names and at the end of the dance, we shared our first kiss. She led me off and we left."

"Three weeks later, I go to the doctor and I find that I'm pregnant," my mom said. "I couldn't believe it. As soon as I got home, I called Zxander and told him. He sounded surprised and worried and told me that he was coming over."

"When I got there I had to ask her many questions and I was worried about what she would think and what she would do."

"Stop for a second. I'm feeling really dizzy and thirsty," I interrupted holding my hand to my forehead.

"Oh, sorry, you didn't take your…" Dad looked at her. "Medicine, yet." They turned back to me. "I'll go get it."

"I'll take some too, Anna."

That confused me again, but I was too dizzy to think about it right now.

"Ok," she said, and vanished into the kitchen. She entered the living room again with two cups filled with red liquid that was my medicine.

I could smell it as soon as she had taken it out of the fridge. I know that medicine was supposed to taste bad, but I liked the taste of it. It was the only thing I ever wanted to drink, of course mom gave me milk and water often, but any other time she gave me this. It had been that way since I was born.

She gave one to me and one to dad. I drank it hastily and greedily. Slowly the dizziness slipped away and so did the thirst.

I looked up and mom smiled at me, so did dad.

"Do you need more?" Mom asked.

I nodded. "Yes please."

She took my glass and went to fill it again. She came back in, gave it to me, and went back over to dad.

I drank a little more, and then dad said, "May I finish now?"

"Mm-hm," I said, nodding.

"Good, now where was I? Oh, yes, I remember. Finally, I had to tell her about my past and my life, like I'm trying to tell you right now. Rose, you might want to put that glass down. Those stains are hard to get out."

"But why would I-"

"Just put it down, please," he interrupted.

I set it on the table next to the couch that I was sitting on.

"Thank you. Now, if you think you're ready for a boyfriend then you are obviously old enough to know this. Please, don't try to interrupt, just try to let me finish. I can't tell you the rest of the story until I tell you this, you got it?"

I nodded. "Please, just tell me, I can handle it."

He closed his eyes and looked away from me. Mom grabbed his hand comfortingly and stared at me.

"Rose," he said, turning back to me. "I'm not exactly human. I'm actually a vampire."

It was a good call telling me to put the glass down because if I had had it, I would have dropped it instantly. My eyes grew and I couldn't believe what he was talking about.

"Both of my parents were vampires, so that makes me a pure-blood vampire. Don't worry, my record is clean. I have never killed nor bitten a human before, so you're safe with that. I do not drink human blood, never have and I don't ever plan to. Instead I drink animal blood. My parents believed that humans and vampires could live together in peace, but when I told them about Anna, they didn't quite expect it. I had to tell them because I needed help, we didn't know what would happen to the baby or to her. It turns out that they didn't know much about it either, but only because it has never happened before. But in the end it all turned out fine." He paused for a minute, letting it sink in. "Rose, you are that baby. You are half vampire and half human. You are the only one of your kind. I'm sorry it turned out that way, but there's nothing we can do about it. We love you, and we know that you may be mad at us, but we will still love you."

I was speechless, just staring at them. I felt dizzy again, but I didn't want to take my eyes off of them.

"Honey, you're dizzy. Drink some more…" mom said trailing off.

I looked at her, my eyes narrowing. "Some more what? Blood? Is that what it is? This whole time my 'medicine' has been blood? You've been giving me blood. How could you do that to me?"

"If we didn't give it to you, you would have died. You know that feeling that you had? The one that you said you felt dizzy? You could survive on human food, but only for about a month. Since your mother chose to keep you, and I would not let her change her mind, we had to give you the blood. Don't worry, it's animal, not human. Your record is as clean as mine. Oh, and let's not forget that, without blood, vampires have no more control and you would have bitten and killed the first human you had seen. We have all had blood in this house. Your mother had to drink at least an ounce of it everyday she was pregnant with you, just so you wouldn't die before the birth, or you wouldn't kill her yourself."

"Well, maybe you should have let me die!" I got up and started walking to my room.

"If we did that, you wouldn't have met John and he wouldn't have met you."

I paused. He was right. If I weren't here, John would be with someone else, instead of with me. He would probably be with someone like Cindy Harmon. I hated her so much.

I walked back over to the couch and sat down. "Fine. I hate it when you use the John card on me. You know how much I like him."

"It is kind of obvious. But yes, I do, that is why I use it. Now, I can't believe he actually asked you out when he can have any girl he wanted. But I can tell that you are very happy that he did. So, tell us about it," dad said.

I ignored the hurt that I should have felt from his first comment and said, "I was at the library, as you should already know. While I was reading _Stardust_, he walks up to me, talking to me, so I have to put the book away. He asks if he can walk me home, which is normal for us, so I didn't think anything of it.

"On the way he brings up how many girls have asked him out. Of course I start to get mad and I start walking away from him. So he runs to catch up with me. By the way, that is a question I've been meaning to ask you. Why am I so much faster than anyone else?"

"It's because of the vampire side of you. Vampires are usually faster and stronger than humans. It is also why your eyes change color, form brown to purple," dad answered.

"Oh, well that would have been nice to know before. Now I know why you didn't let me go out for any sports. Well, anyway, he steps in front of me and says that he said no to all of them. He said it was only because he had fallen in love with me.

"So I was so excited that I start hyperventilating. He pulls me over to sit on a bench. When my breathing slows and I calm down, I ask him to finally kiss me, and he does.

"Of course I loved it, but there was one emotion that made me want to rip him apart."

"Um, yeah, you should refrain from kissing him again. I'm sure you don't want to lose control and bite him. Just try not to kiss him again unless you want to kill him. Can you do that?" Dad said. His eyes were wide, but my eyes were wider.

"What? Are you saying that I could have just killed him just now?"

"Yes, Rose, you could have, and without having your blood, it was even worse. I'm sorry."

I was hyperventilating again.

"Rose, stop. Drink some blood, sweetie. It'll make you feel much better. I promise," mom said.

I did what she said and it did make me feel better. I calmed, but very slowly. "I could have just killed John! You want me to be calm? I can't be calm! I love him, and I almost killed him!"

"We're sorry, but we didn't realize you had gotten that close to him, to killing him," dad said. "Just, try not to do it again until you're older and have more control over your vampire half."

"Will I be able to see him again?" I asked.

"If you think you can control yourself, then yes, but if you don't think you can refrain from kissing him, then you shouldn't go near him."

"Can I tell him why?"

"Since it is our fault, and we told you when you finally got him, we are letting you tell one person. It can be anyone, but please, make sure you can trust him or her, although, it is most likely going to be him. I've noticed that you don't really have girlfriends, like your mother didn't. Now go to bed, you need your sleep, and I need to go back to work. If you have any questions, just ask your mother. She knows quite a lot now." He got up and left to finish his night at work.

"Mom, vampires don't like light, right?" I asked.

"Well, it's not that they don't like it, it's more like the sun light hurts them, so they can't go out into it. Why?"

"Well, shouldn't it hurt me then?"

"Well, in some cases the human part takes over the vampire part and in other cases the vampire takes over the human part."

"Like dominant and recessive genes?"

"Yes, like that. Apparently the eye color is the same, so they just change with your mood. Like, what are you feeling right now?"

"Um, curious, a little surprised, and at ease."

"Well, curious must be the biggest feeling, so your eyes are purple. Brown was your eyes color when you were mad at us, so brown must be the bad emotions. We don't see very much brown, this is probably the most I have ever seen it, so that's good."

"I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you and dad tell me about this when I was younger?"

She paused obviously not expecting this question. She smiled at me. "We didn't think you were ready. We decided that, if you were ready for a boyfriend, then you had to be ready for this, so we just picked that day. Like your father said, we hoped it would never come, but we did have to tell you someday. Is that all?"

"I'm sorry, but I have one more question. Vampires aren't supposed to grow up right?"

"Oh, well, that's why we would have had to tell you before you went to college."

"Why?"

"Because, when a vampire reaches its teens, or is at his or her most beautiful stage, they stop ageing."

"So, I'm going to stay sixteen for the rest of my life?"

"Well, maybe. Your father didn't stop ageing until he was twenty. But I believe after so many years they start ageing again. I'm not sure how many years or even if I'm correct on that. Of course, everything I just told you is for vampires that are born that way or babies that are bitten."

"Oh, well I should get to bed. Thanks, Mom." I got up and walked to my room. I changed and crawled into my bed. I couldn't sleep tonight. I was used to it though, I had many nights like these and I assumed, now, that it was because of the vampire side in me.

I lay awake in my bed thinking about these past few hours. First, my love had finally asked me out. Next, I find out how my parents met. Third, I find out that my father is a vampire, and finally, I find out that I am half vampire. Wow, if that can all happen in about three hours, I wonder what tomorrow will bring.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I awoke the next morning and almost burst into tears as last night's events flooded my mind. I did cry, but not a lot and definitely not enough.

When I was able to hold back the tears, I got ready for the horrible day at school. I still didn't know if I would tell John everything or not. I did know that I had to stay away from him; otherwise I wouldn't be able to stop myself, from anything, whether it's just a kiss or a kill.

"How are you doing today, Rose?" Mom asked. She was looking at me sympathetically. I must have looked horrible.

"Fine," I answered and trudged to the bathroom.

I didn't feel like doing anything special with my hair today so I combed it and left it down. I put some make-up on and walked out, looking much better than when I went in. I sat at the table and mom put a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of me. It was my favorite breakfast meal, but that didn't change my mood at all.

I ate it slowly. When mom pulled out the blood from the refrigerator, I only looked up. Not like usual when I got excited. She set the glass in front of me also. I finished my food before I drank it.

I needed more than that. "I need more blood."

"I'll get it," she answered.

This was a different feeling. I know I hadn't felt it before. My head started to hurt and I felt dizzy. The room was spinning and I just wanted to kill someone.

I saw her walk over to me and I could feel my teeth sharpening. I quickly put up a hand and said, "Stay away from me!" I was getting scared. I started to stand up but I fell to the floor as soon as I did. It felt like gravity was pushing down on me and I wasn't strong enough to hold myself up. I hid my face in my arms.

I heard a glass break and my mom's footsteps running to find my dad. He was sleeping in their room.

My hearing grew sharper and I could hear her footsteps the whole time, I could even hear the click as she opened the door.

"Something's wrong, Zxander!" She said.

I could hear the ruffle of the bed covers as my father jumped out of bed. "What happened?" He asked.

"It's Rose!" Mom yelled.

My headache worsened and it felt like I had been stabbed in the chest, right where my heart was. I screamed out in pain.

They started running to me, dad moving at mom's pace.

I tried to take a breath but could only gather a little. I was going to stop breathing soon.

I looked up and saw mom and dad standing there, both of them aw-struck and scared.

I could smell the blood inside mom and my fangs itched to bight her, but I fought it hard. I was not going to kill my mother.

Dad turned to her, noticing the look in my eyes. "I think you should leave. Stand out by the street. Make sure no one comes near the house. She wants to kill. I'll keep her safe. Now go, she can't hold out much longer. Go!" She ran out the door, not wanting to cause me any more pain, but also wanting to stay and help.

It was a relief not to be able to see her anymore. I tried to smell, getting cut short again, and I soon couldn't smell her blood either.

I watched my dad walk closer to me slowly so he wouldn't scare me.

When he touched me, it burned and I screamed out again. His fingers left my skin immediately. It still hurt where he had touched me, but that was second to the pain of my heart. I still could barely breathe.

"What is wrong?" I hear him ask.

"I … can't … breath!" I told him.

"I can hear that. I need to know what you're feeling to help you."

Instead of making full sentences, I cut them short, because of my irregular breathing.

"Stabbed … heart," I told him. "Burn … touch … Dizzy … Head … split." Because now, my headache seemed more like my head had been split open.

He looked confused. "But that's never happened before. Rose, I need to talk to your mother. I'll get you some blood and a blanket. Your skin is freezing, ok?"

I nodded, but that didn't help my head at all. I winced, trying not to scream anymore.

He got up, grabbing a blanket from the couch and putting it over me. Then he went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass filling it with blood and walking back over to me.

"You need to sit up. I can't touch you without hurting you so you need to do it yourself."

I sat up slowly. It hurt, but not as much as his touch would have.

He handed me the glass, or I should say he tried to hand me the glass. When I tried to grab it, I missed because the room was still spinning.

He sighed. "This is going to hurt, I'm sorry. Brace yourself."

I closed my eyes and got ready for the burning touch. I felt it and it hurt just like the first time, only this time I was ready so I didn't scream.

He was holding my face so I could drink from the glass easily. He put the glass to my lips, I parted them and he tipped the glass up a little so the cool liquid could flow into my mouth. I downed the whole thing and he had to get another glass.

His touch didn't hurt as much this time, my headache lessened and I could almost breathe regularly. After the second glass, which I downed also, my breathing was even and the room stopped spinning, though I still had a splitting headache.

"Is that better?" He asked.

"Yeah, but I still feel like someone stabbed me and I still have a splitting headache. What will fix that?" I looked at him hopefully.

"I don't know. Maybe more blood, but you may have to live through it. I'm going to go talk to your mother now. Is it ok if she comes in now?"

I blinked and felt my teeth with my tongue. They weren't as sharp, so I think it would be ok for her to come in, except I couldn't see her.

"She can come in, but I can't watch her."

"That means you need more blood."

"Yeah, I guess it helped them become less sharp."

He froze and I was puzzled.

"What needs to be less sharp?" He asked looking in the distance.

"My teeth." He went ridged. "I guess they became fangs when I looked at her." I was staring at him wondering what was wrong.

He stood and turned to the front door.

"You can take off the blanket now. Your skin became warmer when you drank the blood." He still seemed distant. He walked over to the door and opened it. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see her.

"Anna!" He called.

I didn't hear anything for a while, but soon I heard my mother's footsteps and I could smell her. I had to fight a little but soon enough it was bearable. This was only because dad had taken her to a different room.

When I noticed this, I opened my eyes and I was right, they had left the room. I listened carefully. I could hear them; they were in their room.

"What happened? Tell me exactly," dad said.

"Why?" Mom asked.

"Because she just went full vampire, Anna! I need to know why! There was no sign of human in her! I need to know why that was! We can't have her go full vampire and not know it! She could die by eating!" He was whisper-yelling.

I sat there for a bit, letting what he said sink in. As it did, I started hyperventilating.

He was saying that I just went full vampire and I could turn out to be full vampire later. I didn't want to be a vampire. I just learned that I was half vampire and I was still getting used to that idea! But now I was going to be full vampire? I couldn't handle that!

I wasn't like my father. I couldn't control myself even now.

I bit my lip, trying to stop hyperventilating. But it turned out that I was biting it so hard that I made it bleed.

My eyes grew wide and I got up, trying to ignore the headache to find something to stop the blood, and fast. Right now I was keeping it in my mouth, knowing that if I put it out in the air, my dad would smell it instantly, and that wouldn't be good.

I couldn't find anything except a tissue and that wouldn't help, actually, now that I thought about it, nothing would help because the blood would be on anything that it touched. So all I could do was keep it in my mouth.

I would have sighed, but I suppressed it to keep my lip in my mouth. I walked back over to the blanket on the floor. I lie down there, waiting for them to come. I knew my eyes were still wide from the surprise, and I knew that would give me away.

Soon they walked back into the room, or at least dad did. He asked if mom could come in. I felt my teeth and they weren't sharp anymore and told him she could.

As soon as she was liable to come in she rushed over to me, her arms open to hug me.

I quickly sat up, trying to get away from her. I didn't know if I could handle that.

She was about to me and didn't look like she was going to stop. I got as close to the chair as I could, pushing against the legs of the chair and the table. I was scared. I didn't know if her touch would burn too and I didn't know if I would be able to stop myself from biting her. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to brace myself for anything.

I sat there for a little bit, but she never hugged me. I snapped my eyes open. She was still in front of me, but her hands were down and she looked sad.

I couldn't sit like that anymore. It felt like my heart was going to burst. So it didn't help the feeling that I was stabbed there.

I relaxed, straightening my legs and my arms. I looked up. My mother looked hurt. I realized that dad hadn't told her what happened.

I blinked, and then looked at him. "You didn't tell her anything that happened?" I was actually surprised.

"No, I thought you should."

I stared at him, even more surprised. "What?" I asked. "Why?"

"She should hear it from the source, as should I. Please recall on everything that happened this morning. Start from when you got up."

I didn't really want to tell the story, but I wanted him to know for sure if I was going to become a vampire, so I told them the story, trying not to skip any details, counting how I felt at any point. The only thing I skipped was that I had listened in on the beginning of their conversation, but anything else I told them.

Dad's jaw was set after my story and looked as though he was concentrating on something. Either it was my story or his theory. But it was probably both.

Mom and I were both waiting, in silence, for him to say something.

Suddenly, he looked at me and I hoped that my face didn't betray what I was thinking.

He looked back at mom and said, "I need to talk to her alone, please?"

Dang it! Stupid! How did I even think that I could hide it from him? I have no idea.

I watched as mom left the room, pleading with my eyes for her to stay. She didn't, of course.

I rolled my eyes at her and turned back to face my father. I calculated his face. He didn't look mad. Actually, exactly the opposite. He seemed calm and serene. But then I remembered that he was a vampire and needed good acting skills.

I tried to keep my face calm too, but I knew the worries crept into it. He smiled a little.

"Try again. Just think about the emotion you want on your face and think about how you will act in that emotion. When you get that down, you won't have to think about it."

I was puzzled and I let it show.

He was either training me, or toying with me. I couldn't tell which.

He sighed, knowing he could see through me at anything. I knew that too. But why wasn't he just coming out and yelling at me for listening in?

I stayed quiet. I didn't want to speak first.

"What's on your mind, Rose, something's bothering you. What is it?" He asked.

Now I was confused and surprised. He didn't know? How could he not know? He knew everything about me, and as I found out yesterday, things I didn't know myself. How could he not know?

"Just tell me, Rose. It'll be a lot harder if I have to find out myself. You know that," he said.

I walked over to him slowly, and stared at him for a while. Then I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him as tears streamed down my face.

"I'm not becoming a vampire, am I?" I sobbed into his shirt. I was sure some of my words were lost, but I hoped he caught most of them.

He pulled me away keeping his hands on my shoulders. "Where did you hear that?" He asked sternly looking into my eyes.

I looked away and said, "From you. You said to mom that I had just gone full vampire and that I could end up being that way." I still didn't look at him.

He was quiet, and I took a chance to look at him. His face looked astonished. He was staring over my head. I didn't think he was looking at anything in particular, so I didn't look behind me. I waited for him to say something.

"How did you hear that? We were in a different room that was soundproof. You couldn't have heard us."

"I don't know. I didn't really try to listen. I just sort of heard it."

"But not even vampires can hear through soundproof rooms. How could you?"

"I don't know! You're the vampire. You're the _father_! You're supposed to tell me. I didn't know about _any_ of this until last night, and ever since everything has gone completely _wrong_! And it's all my parents' fault! Vampires and humans are not supposed to be together!" I shouted and I was sure mom could hear me. I looked away from him, mad at him. "And you didn't answer my question." I said this hotly, but quieter than before.

He sighed. I still didn't look at him.

I didn't even see him move, but suddenly his hand was on my chin, pulling my face around to look at him. When I tried to yank away, I couldn't, his grip was too strong.

"Don't blame your mother. Blame me. I knew what I was and I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't tear myself away from her. I love her, Rose. She didn't know I was a vampire. I should have stopped. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. And, to answer your question, it is a possibility that, after today, you may become a full vampire. I'm really sorry. I won't blame you if you absolutely hate me. I would hate me too. Just know that I will always be here for you and I love you. Nothing can change that. I promise."

I was still scowling at him. He let go of my chin.

"Oh, and one question before you leave me, how is the headache and the pain of your heart?"

I didn't answer the question. I didn't want to. Instead I ran to my room, closing the door behind me, and lay, on my stomach, on my bed, my face buried in my pillow, crying.

Actually, this did not help the headache at all and my heart felt like he had ripped it out as I ran from him. It was worse than physical pain. It was mental pain. He had taken my heart from me as he told me to blame him.

I knew I wouldn't be able to hate him forever and I couldn't believe he thought I would. I loved him, he was my father, and I couldn't hate him.

I stayed in my room the rest of the day. Mom brought me my food, but I barely touched it. I was afraid that I might drop dead if I put any of it in my mouth. I only drank the blood.

I thought of school and of John. He would ask me so many questions when I got back, and I wouldn't want to answer any of them, but I knew I would… sometime, when the time was right, which was approaching faster than I thought. That's just how it always works.

Soon it was night, around nine o'clock. Mom brought in my supper and I asked her, "Mom, am I going to school tomorrow?"

"Only if you think you can control yourself. We aren't going to pressure you to go back to school," she answered.

She started to walk out the door. "Mom?"

She stopped and turned around. "Yes?"

"Is dad mad at me?" I didn't want him mad at me.

She smiled at me. "No, he isn't mad at you. He's worried that you're mad at him, though. I know you both hate it when you're mad at the other. Just go tell him how you feel," she said.

She left me to my thoughts. I sighed and got up, walking over to the door. I stood there with my hand on the doorknob staring at the cold whiteness of the door, thinking. I had to face my fears now.

I closed my eyes and sighed, opening the door.

I listened for my father's voice or any sign of him. I heard something coming from their room. I figured he must have been sleeping, or trying to sleep I should say.

I walked slowly to the door and opened it. "Dad?" I said.

He sat up, surprised. "Yes?"

I walked over to the bed.

"I'm sorry. You know I hate to be mad at you for too long. I'm just scared. And when you say that I'm the only one of my kind, it makes me feel alone."

"Come here," he said moving over a little so I could sit next to him. I did.

I looked at him, tears in my eyes.

"I'm not alone, am I?" The tears started running down my face.

He put his hand up and whipped one away with his thumb.

"No, you're not alone, Rose. You will always have me and your mom. We will not let you go through this alone. I swear to you."

I looked at him. "Everyone has to die, dad."

"Yes, but I don't have to die until you are ready."

"What do you mean?"

"When vampires have kids, they don't age until the child is ready to be alone. If they weren't aging anyway, like me, it stays the same. My parents weren't aging when they had me, so nothing changed. When I was ready to be on my own, I was fifteen, and they started aging again. That is the only reason why they are still alive."

"How old were they when they had you?"

"Do you want actual age or the age that they looked?"

"Um, both."

"Well, they looked around twenty years old, both of them, but they were actually about forty. They had stayed that way for thirty-five years, and they were happy. Now they look forty-three but are actually getting around sixty years. They helped us through your birth as much as they could and were there when you were born, but they never saw you after that day. Your mom and I agreed that they couldn't until we told you the truth."

"So when can I see them?"

"Well, they can't come now, because the sun is still out, but they can come tonight. I'll call my work and say that I'm sick, and then I can call them and tell them to come over tonight. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, thanks, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, Rose."

"Do you need to sleep now?" I smiled.

"That would be nice, but to tell you the truth, I haven't slept in… Well, actually I have never slept in my entire life. Vampires don't sleep, sweetie. I only ever pretended to sleep, for your benefit."

"Oh, right, that would explain why I can stay up for a few days and still not be tired." I smiled at him.

"Yes, that would explain it. Now let's go make some calls."

"Ok," I said. I got off the bed and walked out of the room my dad following me.

My teeth were chattering when I heard the doorbell ring. I was that nervous. Wouldn't anyone be?

I hadn't met these people before, I didn't know what they were like, they were supposed to be my grandparents and worse of all… they were both vampires.

I sat in the living room as my dad got the door and told them about the situation. He didn't tell them of the latest catastrophe, though. I figured he would tell them later.

My teeth had stopped chattering, but I didn't like this any better. I was frozen still. I couldn't move at all.

Dad led them over to me slowly.

Even though they were old, they were the best looking grandparents I have ever seen.

Sure their skin had many wrinkles and they had gray hair, but they could move easily and I doubt they had any heart problems – which brought me to another question that I had to ask my father.

Even though I was really scared, surprisingly my breathing was at regular speed.

"You have grown so much since we last saw you. How old are you now? Fourteen? Fifteen?" The woman said apparently my grandma.

"Fifteen, mom," dad answered.

"Oh, wow. It has actually been that long? I don't suppose you remember us from before we were _ban_ from seeing you." She looked back at my dad with a stern look.

"You know it was for her sake," dad said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She turned back to me. "Do you remember us, sweetie?"

I closed my eyes, trying to remember, but I couldn't remember anything. I slowly shook my head. "No," I said.

I smiled, trying to hold back tears. "But I do know that you're my grandparents. I can feel it." I reached out, going to hug them, but thinking that they could be hungry of thirsty or whatever you call it, and I didn't want them biting me.

"You don't have to be scared to hug us, dear; we drink plenty of blood, just so we can interact with humans all night, or whenever we need to."

"Good," I said and hugged them both. My grandfather hadn't said much, actually he hadn't said anything. I looked at him.

His face softened to a smile.

"You're so big, and so beautiful. I never thought you would make it this far without-"

"Dad." I looked at my dad. Why had he interrupted him?

"Sorry, anyways, I'm glad you did."

"Thanks grandpa." I gave him another hug.

The rest of the night was spent getting to know each other and catching up and all that.

Dad told them the rest of the story and they thought they should stay for a while, to help if anything else went wrong, and so I could get used to them.

I told them about John and they said that, if he was my best friend and I would trust him with my life, then I should tell him everything.

That's when I had made up my mind. I wanted to go to school in the morning and when I got there, I would tell John everything, because I did trust him with my life.

So I went to bed that night, leaving my family to talk amongst themselves, and hoping that John would understand what I am going to tell him.

It took me a while to get to sleep because I could hear every word they were saying. Stupid vampire hearing. And what irritated me the most was that I could hear mom's every heartbeat, and it took all my strength not to get up and bite her.

But I fell asleep soon enough. Leaving behind my bizarre life and entering a world of dreams.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I awoke, feeling really tired from the beating I had taken yesterday, but I got up. I didn't care about anything today other than getting up and going to school. I needed to talk to John.

My mom tried to object, and I'm sure that the rest of the family would have too, but they weren't up, lucky me, for now.

She knew I had to do this though, so she let me go.

I took a deep breath as I pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot. And another as I got out of the car. I walked into the building and my day of terror would begin.

The bad thing was that I hadn't created an alibi. I needed a story to cover my dismissal from yesterday. I decided it would be wise not to stray too far away from the truth, so I just told everyone that I had gotten sick, and of course word spread quickly.

I had almost every class with John. At first, I was happy about that, but now I dreaded it. I stayed away from him, and he knew I was. It was lunch time when he finally caught up to me.

"Rose, wait!" I was going to sit down, but I stopped, figuring it would be better to tell him that I needed to talk to him now, rather then at the table.

He walked up beside me.

"What is wrong with you? You have been avoiding me all day. Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, there is. I need to talk to you alone after school."

He paused for a second. "Is this about you being sick, because if I had anything to do with that, then I'm sorry."

"It's not about me being sick… Well, it sort of is, but not in the way you're thinking. I'll explain everything after school, just find me, I really need to talk to you."

"Ok, I'll find you, don't worry. I trust you."

It took all my energy not to cry when he said that. I truly didn't believe that he would trust me after I told him of what really happened, and of my true nature. I just thought it to be totally impossible.

But I nodded and finished walking to the table to my waiting friends, actually, our waiting friends. Like I said before, most of my friends were guys.

I sat quietly for the first time through lunch. I know they probably asked why, but I wasn't aware enough to give them an answer. I was aware enough to hear the teasing they gave to John, though, but I didn't comment on it.

I threw my leftovers away and went through the day like this, not aware of what was going on completely.

"Hey Rose, what's up?" I closed my locker door and saw John standing next to me.

Suddenly, I realized that school was over and my moment of true terror would begin. I looked at him, and I could tell he could see the worry in my eyes.

"You said you wanted to talk to me."

I nodded, not trusting my voice at all. I made a gesture to show him to follow me, and he did.

When we were safely away from the school grounds, and I knew there was no one near to hear us, I took a deep breath and said, "I don't know exactly how to tell you this, but I'm not who you always thought I was. I'm much different now. I have changed in the past forty-eight hours. More than I could have ever changed before. I have learned new things about myself that I had no idea existed, and yet my parents knew the whole time. I don't know how you're going to take it, but I hope you don't see me too much differently than you do now. I still love you John, and hopefully I always will. My parents have been keeping this secret from me for a long time. They were scared to death to tell me the truth, and since I'm trying to right now, I can't really blame them. For so many years I have only known half of who I am, and I just learned about the other half two days ago." I paused for a little bit, not knowing what to say next.

"I don't understand, Rose. What other half did you not know about? You don't look any different from the last time I saw you."

I looked to the ground, still not knowing how to tell him. "My dad is a vampire, John. My mom is human." I looked up at him.

He looked so confused. "So that would make you a…?"

"That would make me a half vampire child, and, most likely, the first of my kind."

"Are you trying to trick me?"

"No. For years I have been drinking blood, thinking it was my medicine. For years I thought my grandparents on my father's side were dead only because my parents didn't think it was right for them to see me until I learned everything about myself. For years I have had the urge to bite someone without ever knowing what the feeling was. For years I have been waiting for you to ask me out, and now I have to tell you this." I could feel the tears running down my cheeks and my chin. "For years I have been wondering what your reaction would be to this news. Even though I didn't know about it for that long, it was always a part of my future and that would never change."

It was silent as I waited for him to say something.

"I don't know what to say, Rose. You're telling me that you are half vampire, that your father is a vampire, and your grandparents are vampires. Vampires aren't even real. How do you expect me to believe you? Show me some proof."

I looked at him sternly, the tears gone. "You want proof? Do you want to know what really happened yesterday? Why I really didn't go to school? Not the half lie that I made up to cover it."

He didn't answer, so I went on. "I got up that morning, going through all the regular motions that I do before I go to school. When I sat down to eat my breakfast, before I can finish, I fall to the floor, feeling like I can't breath, staring at my mom and fighting against myself to not bite her. I was dizzy and could hear every little thing, and smell every little thing in the house. My mom had to go stand out on the curb to relieve me of some of the pain. My dad didn't know what to do; no one knew what to do. Finally, he gave me some blood and I started to feel better. I met my grandparents that day too. It was the best night, but the worst day, of my life, all in one. If you want proof, come over to my house and you'll see the proof when the sun goes down."

"I'll be there. Are you ok with everything? If this is true, will you be ok to be around me?"

"If I don't become full vampire, I will. I have been doing it for so many years, I'm used to it." The angry edge in my voice was still there, very prominent.

"You don't kill people, do you?"

"No, we don't. My dad said that they believe in peace between humans and vampires while the rest don't. That is why they stay hidden. He calls it being a vegetarian for vampires. We only feed on animals." The anger was drifting away from my voice and my feelings.

"So I'm not going to be in any danger if I come over tonight?"

"No, I told you, my dad has a job that works with many other people. He and I both have not tried human blood. But don't push it, I'm young. My parents were surprised by how controlled I am. I can kiss you and not bite you. But they still don't think it is wise to keep pushing that." Now all the anger that had been in my voice was gone completely.

"So basically they don't think you should kiss me anymore?"

"Basically."

"Do you agree with them?"

"I don't know. I think I should keep trying to control myself better, but when I say to stop, you had better listen."

He agreed and I walked back with him, discussing new things, to my car. I waved goodbye to him and drove home with high hopes.

My mom guessed my mood right when I walked in the door.

"I'm assuming it went well?"

"Well, it went ok. He still wants proof. I told him he could come over tonight and then he'll see his proof."

"Ok, I hope you know what you're doing, Rose."

"I do. Thanks Mom."

I went to my room and worked on my homework, since I had a lot because I missed yesterday.

About half an hour before sunset, the doorbell rang. I stopped immediately and went to the front door to find that my mom had already answered it.

He stood just inside the hall and when he saw me he smiled. I smiled back.

"Well, come on in, don't be a stranger, John," I said.

He came in farther and I motioned him to come sit on the couch in the living room as my mom closed all the blinds on the windows so dad and my grandparents could get ready to go. Hopefully it would be a regular day.

Dad got up in about fifteen minutes, followed by my grandparents. Mom got my food ready and set it on the table. As usual I smelled the blood the minute she took it out of the refrigerator, and I looked at it immediately. I smiled, feeling John's eyes on me.

I watched her pour it into four cups. She gave one to each of my grandparents, one to my dad, and one to me. We all ate it like hungry vultures and she only laughed and refilled the cups.

I looked over at John and he was staring at the cup in my hands. I raised it saying, "You want to try some?"

He quickly shook his head. "No."

"You don't want to prove that it's blood?"

"I don't want to prove that it's blood."

I laughed. "It tastes fine to me, but I am half vampire so that is an advantage."

"I don't know why humans think it is repulsive to drink blood. They do it every time they eat any meat. It's the same concept." Grandma said.

"No it's not. When we eat meat all the blood is drained out."

"No, you may think that it's drained but I can always smell it. Stronger sense of smell you know," Grandma countered.

"You sure you don't want to try it?"

"I'm sure. I also don't know if I'm going to be able to eat meat ever again."

"Ok then," I said and downed the rest of it, and then finished my food.

I looked over at my grandparents and realized that I had forgotten to introduce them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. John, this is my grandma and this is grandpa," I said pointing to each of them.

"You can call me Donna, and this is my husband, Jim." She held her hand out to shake his, but he didn't return the favor. "It's ok, we aren't going to bite you," she said, keeping her hand reached out toward him.

"Are you both real vampires?" He asked. Surprisingly he sounded scared. I have never seen him scared before, and I never thought he would be scared of my grandparents. I sighed, filling it with worry.

He looked over at me, knowing what I was thinking, but not being able to help himself. He looked back at grandma, waiting for an answer.

She lowered her hand, knowing that he wouldn't shake it anytime soon.

"Yes, we are. Did Rose tell you the whole story?"

"Yeah, I guess. She said that you were all vampires."

"But she probably didn't tell you that we don't drink human blood, did she?"

"No, not exactly, but if you don't drink human blood, then do you drink animal blood too?"

"Yes, we do. We have learned to live without human blood. We believe that humans and vampires can live in peace, and we are proving it. I have not had human blood since I was very young. Rose hasn't tasted it at all, and neither has her father. We are proud of that."

"Yeah, she told me that they haven't had it at all."

She nodded.

I smiled; glad that he might not be so afraid of them anymore.

"So, do you believe me now?" I asked when it was too late for him to stay.

I was walking him over to the door so he could leave.

He turned to me and said, "Yeah, Rose, I believe you. I always did. I just thought it would be a good idea to see your family early." He laughed.

I laughed too. "God, why didn't you tell me? You had me worried that you wouldn't believe me."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"I know you didn't." I hugged him. "So, what do you think of my grandparents?"

"I like them. Of course, I'm still scared that they're going to bite me or something."

"Well you don't have to worry about that. I've heard that it doesn't hurt."

"They wouldn't turn me into a vampire?"

"No, my dad said that you have to drink their blood and they have to drink yours in order for you to become a vampire."

"Oh, that's good, I guess."

It was silent for a few minutes.

"Well, I guess you should go," I said.

"Yeah, I guess."

He opened the door and started to walk out.

"John, wait."

"What?" He turned around and I kissed him quickly. He was tense at first, surprised, but then he relaxed and kissed me back. I pulled back before I wanted to.

"There, they didn't see it so they can't say anything about it." I smiled as I watched him trying to catch his breath.

He nodded once. He kissed me again and I let him. It was much more intimate and deeper than the first one. I was happy about it.

After a few seconds, I could feel the sharp edge in the pit of my stomach and the burning in the back of my throat. I pulled away quickly.

"Sorry, but I don't want to hurt you. You should go."

"Yeah," he said and left, waving goodbye.

I closed the door and regained my breath before I went back into the living room with my grandparents and my mom.

"Well, that took a long time. What were you doing?" Mom asked.

"Nothing," I answered quickly.

"Why is your breath ragged?" Grandpa asked.

Grandma looked at him, then back at me. She listened for a moment and I could see it flash across her face quickly, but hidden just as quick. She knew the reason.

I tried harder to keep it under control and breathe regularly again. I listened to myself breathe for a little bit, but I couldn't get rid of the slight pull of my breath that wasn't supposed to be there, I couldn't breathe right. I decided to hold my breath. I could do it; I was a vampire, or half a vampire. So I took a deep breath and held it.

It was silent for a moment.

"I don't hear anything," Grandma said. I looked at her, accidentally letting out my breath. I blinked. She was denying it.

Mom looked at her. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Hm, you must have just been hearing things, dad."

"Yeah, I must have." He was looking at Grandma probably wondering why she didn't tell my mom the truth, like I was.

"Ok, you should go to bed, Rose," she said, turning back to me. "It is pretty late and you still have school tomorrow."

"Yeah, goodnight, mom," I said and I walked back to my room quickly. I could feel my grandma's eyes on me while I walked, so I walked faster. I got to my room and closed the door behind me. I changed quickly and got into bed, turning off the lights.

I closed my eyes and sighed, smiling into my pillow. I was happy. Suddenly I heard the click of the door and I sat up instantly tense, ready for anything.

I looked at the intruder and saw my grandmother. I relaxed a little, but not enough. I knew what was going to happen. She was going to talk to me about what she had found out. I didn't want to talk about it, though. I wanted to think about it.

I stared at her, waiting for her to say something. She was staring at me as she closed the door.

"Why did you lie for me?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to talk to you about it first," she said.

"Please don't, I have already made the choice. I don't need anything from you about it."

She sat next to me on my bed. "Why don't you tell me what happened when you told this boy the truth?"

I took a deep breath, debating if I should tell her or not. I decided I would, so I told her the story. How I was so scared to tell him, how he said he didn't believe me, and how he agreed to come to the house tonight.

She looked at me for a little bit, seeming to think it over, and then asked me, "So what happened just now?"

"I thought you knew."

"No, I thought, I didn't know. The only way I can know is if you tell me, since I wasn't there myself."

"Fine, I'll tell you." I looked away and I could feel my face getting warmer, so I knew I was blushing. "We said goodbye and I kissed him."

"You what?"

"I kissed him." I looked at her, and she looked surprised and like she was about to lecture me. "Oh please, I can take care of myself. You don't need to lecture me about it. I already know, and I already know the consequences. I don't need you to tell me everything again."

"All I want to say is to be careful. I know boys can be so uncontrollable. Make sure he knows when to stop." She looked really concerned.

I was astonished. "H-he's not like that grandma. Since he knows the secret, he won't try to push me any farther than I am willing to go. He wouldn't try to take advantage of me, either."

She still looked concerned. "Just be careful." She got up to leave, but turned around just before she opened the door.

"So did he lie to you earlier today, or did he lie to you now?"

"What?"

"Just think about it, he had to of lied at some point today. Think through it carefully. Goodnight Rose."

"Goodnight, Grandma." My voice sounded very distant. I was thinking about what she said.

She opened the door and left, closing it again behind her.

I lay back in my bed, still thinking of the things she said. She said that he had to have lied to me. And as I thought about it, I knew she was right. He had lied to me, but how she figured it out, I had no clue. I didn't like this.

She was suggesting things that I haven't even thought of before, and they were all possibilities, I just didn't want to admit them.

I don't think I ever fell asleep that night. I was too astonished, amazed, or surprised, to even close my eyes. I just sort of fell into something that was close to sleep, leaving my brain open to think and my eyes wide open, though I wasn't actually seeing anything, sort of like daydreaming, but different, just distant.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I awoke, or so you could call it. When the alarm went off, I jumped because I hadn't noticed that it had gotten that late. I blinked away the sleepiness, getting out of bed. I changed into my clothes for school, realizing that it was finally Friday. I got into the bathroom, combing through my hair, straightening it, and brushing my teeth.

I skipped breakfast today, still scared that I would suddenly die from eating.

"You're going to have to eat sometime, Rose," mom said as she handed me the blood.

I glanced at her. "Maybe," I answered.

I downed the glass quickly, grabbed my keys, and walked out to my car with my bag. I fumbled with the keys for a second, trying to find the right one. When I finally found the key, I unlocked the car and started it. I sat there for a minute, waiting for it to warm up a little, then I drove off to school.

It just so happened that there was a spot right next to John's car, so I parked there, turning it off. I grabbed my bag and entered the school, going to my locker because I had cut it kind of close to the final bell. I shoved all the things that I didn't need in there quickly and walked to my first period class.

John had saved a spot for me next to him. It was science class and we were doing labs today. He always let us sit where ever we wanted to on lab days and whoever we sat by was our lab partner.

I smiled at him as I sat down. There were three to a table and the third person at our table, sitting on the other side of John, was Cindy. I glanced at her and she was staring at me. I looked back up at John, but he didn't seem to notice the exchange between us. He was looking straight ahead because the class had just started and Mr. Gregk just entered the classroom.

I looked at her once more, and then faced the front, listening to what our assignment was today. Of course it was due at the end of the class.

I sighed as he let us go to work, and turned to John and Cindy. It looked like they had already started on the project so I leaned in, trying to help, but they both ignored my efforts. I slumped back in my chair and glared at Cindy.

Our group was the first one done and Mr. Gregk told us to read the next section in the book and then we could do whatever we wanted to do. So I read through the section quickly.

When I was finished, I ripped out a piece of paper and wrote 'Is everything ok?' on it and handed it to John, secretly so Mr. Gregk wouldn't see.

He read it and looked confusedly at me. He wrote something down then handed it back to me.

I said 'No, why?'

I scribbled, 'Idk u seem distant' and handed it back.

He wrote on it again and handed it back to me. It said, 'I feel a little tired, that's all. Sorry.'

'That's ok, good thing it's Friday.'

'Yeah, I was wondering if u would like to go to a movie tonight.'

I smiled and put 'Yeah, I would love it'.

'Great, I'll pick u up at 6'

I nodded and I knew he saw it.

I pulled out my book again and I heard him trying not to laugh as he saw the cover again. I made a face at him and went back to reading.

The rest of the day was very uneventful. Just the same old kind of day, though everyone was a little bit more energetic because it was Friday. I was a little happier today too because most of my problems were taken care of for the week, the main ones at least.

John came up to my locker again after school and walked me to my car. We talked about what movie we wanted to see tonight. He wanted to watch a scary movie and I sort of did too, but I mostly wanted a comedy. So we settled for _Crumbled City_ which was a movie about werewolves and vampires that attacked a great city that all the humans left in the world, lived in.

It sounded like a good movie and it was supposed to be a good movie, many kids in the school were talking about it.

He kissed me goodbye and I left home to work on homework and get ready for the night. When I walked out of my room looking nice my mom asked, "Where are you going tonight?"

"I'm going to a movie with John," I answered.

"Alone?" She looked worried which surprised me.

"Yeah, it's our first date. Why?"

"Well, it isn't good to go on a first date with someone you don't know alone."

"Mom, I've known him for years. Since we were little. You know this. Why are you being so worried about it?"

"No, you've known him as a friend, not as a boyfriend. He could be different out on dates." She completely avoided my question.

"I agree with your mother, Rose. You probably don't know him as well as you think you do."

I turned around to find my grandma sitting in the living room. Had she been there the whole time? I couldn't remember seeing her as I walked into the room.

"How can you say that? I have known John since I was like three, and I think I know him good enough that I don't need an escort to our dates. Thank you for your concerns, but I can take care of myself."

The doorbell rang then and I looked back at the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have a good time. Goodnight."

I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hi, Rose," John said.

"Hi, John." I grabbed my jacket and walked out the door with him.

"Are you ok?" He asked when I didn't say anything.

"Yeah, I just had a little quarrel with my mom and my grandma, that's all."

"What was it about?"

"You." I looked up at him to see what his reaction would be.

He laughed a little, "What did I do now?"

"I don't know they just don't like the idea of me being alone with you or something. They say that I don't know you like I think I do. But I know that I know you."

"Yeah, you know me. You are probably the only one that knows me the best." He didn't look at me. He opened the car door for me and I got in.

"Thank you."

He went around and got in the driver's seat. "For what?"

"For telling me that I know you the best."

"Oh, well you're welcome."

It was quiet as we drove to the movie theater. He held my hand the whole way, rubbing his thumb on the back of it.

He parked the car and we went into the theater, he bought both tickets and the popcorn and pop.

I smiled as I saw that he remembered what kind I liked the most, Mt. Dew.

We went into the movie and sat in the back because it was pretty full already.

The kids in school were right about the movie. It was very good. It scared me a few times too, and I think he liked that. It had a little bit of everything in it. It had some romance, comedy, action, horror, and adventure all in one movie.

After the movie, he still wouldn't talk to me, so I decided I would break his silence.

"Did you like the movie, John?"

"Yeah." His short reply irritated me, and I wondered what was wrong with him.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You won't talk to me."

He sighed and parked, we were on my street, but not directly in front of my house.

"I'm sorry, I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"About you." He looked at me, and it seemed that I could see right through him and see what exactly he wanted, but still didn't know anything about it.

"Like what about me?"

"Like how much I want you."

He was leaning closer to me and I was leaning closer to him.

"How much is that?" I asked. I was dying to kiss him now. He answered my wishes. He leaned the rest of the way that was between us and pulled my head to his. Our lips touched and it felt like magic.

He shifted so he was more comfortable, then he got closer.

My lips parted and he pushed his tongue into my mouth.

Now he was closing the distance between us faster than before.

I could feel the thirst of the vampire in me. It was making itself more pronounced, but I didn't want to stop. I fought it for as long as I could, but finally it got to be too much.

I pulled away from him, wishing that I didn't have to.

"John, I can't. We need to stop." I was out of breath.

But he ignored my efforts and pulled me closer again.

He was in my seat now and he pulled me on top of his lap. His hands hesitated around my waist for a second and then he started lifting up my shirt.

I pushed his hands down, breaking the kiss and saying, "No, we need to stop. John, I can't handle it."

"You're just being insecure. Forget about it, and relax," he whispered, and pulled me into another kiss.

I could feel the fangs on my own teeth growing longer and sharper the longer I sat here. My throat was getting really dry and I was getting very hungry. I felt dizzy with hunger.

He tried to pull off my shirt again, and this time he succeeded because I was too dizzy to try and stop him. His hands moved slowly over my body, feeling my every curve. I was able to find them with my hands and I pushed them away with all my effort, or as much as I could spare from refraining to bite him.

I shoved him back against the dashboard of the car and tried to get away from him before I couldn't control myself at all. But, in this one instant, I was too slow; it had something to do with the fact that I didn't have any coordination left in my body.

"Where are you going?" He turned me back around because I had gotten that far at least. "You know you want this, and I want it too," he whispered.

"I don't want to kill you." I couldn't tell if he heard me or not, all I knew was that my voice was very weak, and I could barely hear myself.

Soon he was moving too fast that I couldn't see him. I assumed that he was moving at a normal pace, I just had difficulties seeing it now. I was going limp from lack of nourishment. If I didn't drink some blood soon, I would die, or worse, end up killing John.

I could feel his hands taking off my pants slowly and then moving up to my bra again. His lips were trailing my neck, the place where my teeth itched so badly to be on his.

His hands left my sides but returned in a second. I didn't know what happened, but when he pressed up against me again, his chest was bare and I could assume after that.

I was breathing through my mouth, trying not to smell him, knowing that it would only make it worse for both of us.

The only thing was, was that he was right. I did want this, so badly, but I knew that I would never be strong enough to do it. That was the only thing that was keeping me from fighting him harder.

But somehow, I found the strength that I needed. I pushed him off of me with enough force that he should have broken through the windshield, but he didn't.

"I don't want to kill you," I said in a stern voice. I made sure that I was loud and clear. "If you go any farther, I will end up drinking all your blood and killing you. I will not have that on my conscience. I really want this, you have no idea how badly, but I cannot control myself enough to have it, yet, or even if I'll ever be able to. Now take me home, please."

He looked scared after my speech. He quickly put his shirt back on and handed me my clothing so I could put them back on.

He started the car and drove, fast to my house. I was glad that he had, because if I had to be in that car right next to him for much longer, I didn't know what would happen. I was getting scary, and that meant that I was getting hungrier. My teeth were the sharpest, and the dullest things I have ever felt. I knew that they wouldn't cut my tongue, but they would cut through anything if I wanted them to.

I tried not to open my mouth and show him them when I was talking, but I don't think I succeeded at that. My fangs had to have been one of the reasons he was so scared.

I was still putting my shirt back on, after my pants, when he pulled over in front of my house. I quickly finished putting it on.

"Rose, I'm sorry. I lost myself. I didn't-"

"Save it. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I quickly opened the door and ran from the car, trying to make it look as casual as I could so that if anyone were to see me it would look like I was just trying to get out of the cold. My mom didn't need to worry, and neither did my grandma.

"Hi, Rose," I heard my mom say from around the corner.

"Hi, mom. Can I get some ummm…?" I didn't know what she wanted me to call it.

"Blood?" She finished for me.

"Yeah, please and thank you."

She got it out, poured some in a glass, and gave it to me.

"Thanks," I said and gulped it down. I couldn't wait any longer; if I did I might have ended up biting my own mother. When I was sure there wasn't a drop left, I gave it back to her and she went to get more.

I gulped that down too and gave it back to her for one more glass.

"Wow, you're really thirsty aren't you?" She said as she was getting the third glass.

"Yes."

She gave it to me and I took a drink. I didn't need to drink the whole thing in a second this time. I was almost full, and I was very relieved about that.

I closed my eyes. I didn't know what to feel. I thought I would be able to trust John to listen to me when I needed him to stop, but he completely ignored my demands this time. I felt worried for him. I would have killed him if I didn't have enough control, even though I knew I should just be mad at him, but I couldn't.

"Are you ok, Rose?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said and walked to my room taking the glass with me. I could feel her eyes on me, but I wasn't going to tell her anything about this.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to my bed. I sighed, putting the glass on the night stand, and fell on my back on the bed.

I started to cry because I wasn't sure I could trust him anymore and that scared me. I cried myself to sleep that night hoping for a better day tomorrow, hoping I could learn to trust him again. If I couldn't, I didn't know what I would do.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next day was almost unbearable. All I could ever hear was the phone ringing in my ears. Thank god I had my own phone, my cell phone, so I didn't have to tell my parents anything. I couldn't bring myself to answer it though, because I knew it would be him calling.

I was warring with myself, and I didn't know which side I wanted to win. It was an awful feeling, and I wanted to banish it from my emotions, but I couldn't. I wished that I could just forget about what happened and forgive him, but I also wished that I wouldn't.

So I ignored his calls and abandoned him for the weekend. The worst and hardest thing I could ever do to myself. But I knew the truth was that I might never be able to trust him again, and that scared me even more than not answering his calls. He was the only one I could ever trust with anything, and not being able to was a nightmare for me.

When the long weekend had finally ended, I had to go back to school. I had to face him again. I avoided his gaze, and never looked at him the whole morning. My heart felt too heavy if I tried to look at him. I could always feel the tears in my eyes just waiting to fall when I lost just the least bit of control, and I knew that time was coming soon, but not yet, and hopefully not today.

Just before lunch, the only class that I didn't have with him, I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing or where I was walking. I was thinking deeply, without really knowing what I was thinking about.

Suddenly, I ran into something, hard, but also soft and I dropped everything in my hands, letting it all fall to the floor. I stared at my fallen possessions, and then looked up to see what I had run into. It was a boy, my age and grade, I recognized him from some of my past classes, but I couldn't remember his name.

"I'm sorry, I should have been watching where I was going," I said, blushing deeply at my clumsiness.

"No, it was my fault; I should have been watching you. I'm sorry." As he was talking, I had leaned down to pick up my things, and he was now helping me.

I looked at him quizzically and stopped picking up my belongings. "You should have been watching me?" I asked.

He stopped as well and said, "Well, yeah, a gentleman always watches out, and moves for a beautiful lady."

I blushed again, even redder than before, my cheeks were still red from the last time. I guess it didn't matter how cheesy the line was.

"Well, I guess that would be nice of a man. But too bad that not many of them are actually that _gentlemanly_." I spat the last word as I thought of John. I didn't mean for it to come out so harsh, but it just did, and he obviously read my distress.

"Someone has mistreated you?"

I looked at him, my eyes saying everything that I didn't want to say, for a moment, and then started picking my things up again.

His hand was on mine as I tried to pick up my notebook. I looked back up at him, blushing a tiny bit, but my eyes still held his, still saying everything that I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't persuade myself to.

"He hurt you badly." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. I didn't like it, but it was kind of true. "Who was it?"

I looked away from him, to the floor and finished picking up my things. He took his hand away as if he had just realized that it was still on top of mine.

"Will you tell me?" He asked as we both stood up.

"Maybe… but later, I can't right now, there isn't enough time."

"I understand. When? Where? I don't care."

"Meet me at my locker after school." I scribbled the number and what floor it was on, on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

He glanced at it for a second, and then said, "Ok, I'll be there."

I nodded and then I walked out of the room to find my next class. I had to hurry, or else I would be tardy, and my parents wouldn't like that at all. I didn't really want to see my dad mad, especially after I found out that he was a vampire, I figure that wouldn't be a very pleasant sight. So I hurried to my next class and I was in my chair just before the bell rang.

I felt John's eyes boring into my back, willing me to turn around. I knew what he was thinking about. He was wondering why I was so late. I had never been this late for a class before, and I was kind of happy that it bugged him.

I sighed as I sat and listened to the lecture and the boring voice the teacher had, not really focusing on it at all. I was actually surprised to find myself thinking of the boy, whose name I still couldn't remember. I was thinking of him all through the class and even standing in the lunch line.

I was still absent-minded when I felt someone, or something grab my arm.

"Rose, will you please talk to me?" He said as he pulled me around to face him.

I looked at him for a second, and then said, "I don't want to talk to you, John, not right now. Leave me alone. The least you can do is let me get over it… if I get over it." I said the last statement quietly. I looked at the floor, wishing it wouldn't become reality, but knowing that there was a very good chance of it.

He was silent, and that made me look up to see his face. It didn't look quite the way I had imagined it. He didn't seem as sad or horrified as I felt. Instead he only looked slightly worried and I thought I saw a little bit of relief hidden deep, but I could still see it.

I looked around me, trying to find something else to look at so I didn't have to look at his eyes anymore. I noticed that everyone was sitting still and watching us silently. I was suddenly self-conscious.

Then my eyes fell upon the boy's face that I had been thinking about for the past hour. I was surprised to see him here. I hadn't noticed that I had lunch with him and it was surprising to me. I stared at him for a minute and he noticed my stare. He smiled in response, a nice, warm smile, one that I hadn't seen in a very long time.

And before I knew what I was doing, I was walking toward him, my body planning to sit at his table, but then John grabbed my arm again and pulled me back around.

His eyes flashed over to the boy and back to my face, which I was sure held my surprise at being whipped back around by him.

"What are you doing? You sit with us." He said it like it was a demand, like he controlled me.

My face became hard and red with anger. "You don't control me, John. You can't tell me what I can and can't do. Now I suggest you let go of my arm before I get really mad. I'm sure you don't want me to lose _my_ control, now do you?"

His face flashed, suddenly scared and worried and he quickly let go of my arm. I glared at him to make sure that he wouldn't try to grab it again, and I started walking over to the table again.

I was glad that I could make my voice really quiet, so no one heard what the conversation was about. I was also grateful for it, because the boy's face was still in the perfect, warm smile that he had when I first saw him in the cafeteria. I smiled back at him and sat down next to him.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi." He paused, seeming to think something over. "What was that all about?" He asked, still hesitant. I could tell that he didn't want to offend me in any way.

"John is just being a rude bastard." I answered his question with a light voice, so he would know that I didn't mind him asking.

"Oh, is that the guy you're having trouble with then?"

I slowly nodded and looked at the table.

He leaned forward, trying to see my face. "He looked scared at the end there, what did you say to him?"

This was the one question that I hoped that he wouldn't ask. Because it was the one question that I could not answer. Or, more accurately, I couldn't explain. I stayed quiet, trying to think of how to answer him.

"I don't mean to pry. I'm sorry. You don't have to answer the question."

"It's not that I don't want to answer the question, it's more like I can't answer. Let's just say that I'm the kind of girl to fear." I looked at him as I said this. I wanted to see his face, his reaction to my words.

I wished he wouldn't grasp what I was trying to tell him, but I also wished he would. I wished he would run from me, maybe he would be safer that way. I was already getting tired of worrying about hurting the people I loved. I even had to worry about hurting my own mother! I didn't want to worry about one more person.

His face didn't change, except the faint flicker of surprise and wonder in his eyes, and I felt relief, but also a tiny bit of sadness. My parents would never let me tell another person about whom I really was, and it was impossible to ask them if they would.

"I don't see anything to fear."

"You might want to remind yourself not to get me mad then, if you don't want to see what makes John so scared of me, that is."

"Ok, I'll try not to get you mad. That shouldn't be too hard to do. You don't seem to have a temper." He smiled again. I think I would have fainted if he smiled like that one more time toward me.

"No, I don't have a temper, and that is a very good thing. You're lucky for that." I smiled back at him.

"Good, I don't want to get you mad when I don't know what I did."

It was quiet for a minute and my eyes wandered. Then I remembered what question I kept forgetting to ask him.

I turned back to him and asked, "I never asked, what is your name?"

"My name is Darren."

I smiled, the name fit well, as far as I could tell. "Well, it is nice to meet you Darren, I'm Rose."

"Hi, Rose. So, are you going to answer my question, or did you decide not to, because saying that I should fear you doesn't exactly answer the question."

I looked at him sadly, "I would love to tell you everything, but I can't. I can't answer your question. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I was just curious, of course, now you have made me even more curious, but I can live with it until you can tell me."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell you."

"I can wait," he assured me.

After a few minutes of silence, I got up and dumped my tray then sat back down next to him. For the first time I realized all the people sitting around us.

He noticed as I looked at each one of them.

"Oh, these are my friends. They are kind of shy." He pointed to the guy sitting in front of me. "That's Mudd."

I looked at him quizzically.

"That's actually his real name. I guess it kind of fits because he likes the mud a lot."

"Ok, hi, Mudd." He nodded at me.

"This is Silent Ben. As you can tell from his name, he is very silent," Darren said pointing to the boy next to Mudd.

"So, was he actually named Silent Ben? Or is that just his nickname?"

"He was actually named that. His parents said that he never cried when he was a baby, never. So they named him Silent Ben."

"Oh, it's a nice name." I tried to be polite, but the question in my voice was easily discovered.

Silent Ben just shrugged.

Darren overlooked that, he was probably used to it. "He also, obviously, doesn't say much, in fact, I don't think I have ever heard him say a word." He pointed to the last person at the table, sitting right next to Silent Ben. "That is Tofu Gary. We call him Tofu because he is a vegetarian. He doesn't mind the name, actually he likes it."

"Oh, hi Tofu." He was the only one that waved to me out of the group. I smiled at him, noticing that he wasn't as shy as the rest of them.

"You can talk to Tofu; he'll answer you, most of the time. The other two might need to be around you a little more." Darren whispered to me.

"Oh, well it is very nice to meet all of you," I said to them all.

Mudd nodded, Silent Ben shrugged, and Tofu said, "Nice to meet you too, Rose." I smiled at him again. Then I looked at the clock and I saw that I had two minutes to get to my next class.

"I should get to class," I told them.

Darren looked at the clock too. "Yeah, we should go too."

The others got up and started to leave. I got up too, Darren following me.

"I still want to hear your story. Can I still come to your locker after school?"

"Uh, sure, but I don't know what else there is to tell you."

"I'm sure there's more." He smiled at me.

"Ok, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Ok, I'll be there."

And then we went our separate ways to our classes.

"Hi, Rose."

I was leaning against my locker, waiting for him to find me.

"Hi, Darren," I answered.

When he was closer, I stood up and said, "So, did you figure out something else you want to know about me?" I started walking out to the parking lot, to my car.

"I was wondering if you would tell me who John is, what is he like?"

I sighed. "I thought I knew, but now I'm not sure. He used to be a nice guy, someone I could trust, but now I don't know if I'm going to be able to trust him, which is really bad, because he knows all my secrets, even the worst one, the one that should only belong to my family."

"Maybe you just need some time to think things over. If you trusted him that much, then I'm sure you'll be able to trust him again."

"Yeah, I guess if it was meant to be."

It was quiet for a little bit. I looked up and saw that we were almost to my car.

"Do you have any other questions before I go?"

"Do you think you're going to be sitting with us at lunch a lot?"

"Probably, until I feel that I can trust John again."

"Oh, I see. Do you have a cell phone number?"

"Yes."

"Can I call you tonight? I still have many questions."

"Sure." I took out a piece of paper and wrote my number on it, giving it to him.

"Thanks, I'll call you tonight."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye Rose."

I unlocked the doors to my car and got into the driver's seat, waving to him as he walked away.

I closed the door and I was happy with the way the day had gone. I had found a new best friend, and I felt that I could tell him anything, but I knew how that might end up, like John's case. More like, something like it, not totally the same.

As I sat there thinking, I noticed how hungry my vampire side was, so I pushed the keys into the ignition and left the parking lot, heading home with a smile on my face.

As soon as I stepped in the door my mom said, "You look happy, how was school?"

"Good, I guess." I couldn't get rid of the dumb smile on my face.

"You look different, definitely happier than you have been the past few days. What happened?"

"I just made a new friend, that's all."

"A girl friend or a boy friend?"

"A boy, of course."

"Well, you know, there is always hope." She smiled at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure there is, Mom." I started walking to my room.

"Wait, where are you going?"

I turned around and looked at her. "I have homework."

"Well, I don't even know your new friend's name."

"His name is Darren, Mom. He has a couple of other friends too. I sat with them today at lunch."

"What are their names?" She asked.

I sighed. "I don't think you want to know their names."

"Why? Are you afraid I might know them?"

"No, it's just that they have really weird names."

"So? Just tell me their names, that's all."

"Ok, first, there's Mudd, then there is Silent Ben, and finally, there's Tofu. His actual name is Tofu Gary, they just call him Tofu."

I watched my mom's reaction carefully. She was silent, thinking it through.

"If there was nothing special, you could have just told me. You didn't have to make up a lie."

"I'm not lying, Mom! I'm telling the truth. Why would I even lie about this kind of thing?"

"Well I don't know, but those can't be real names."

"Mudd and Silent Ben are their actual names. Tofu's name is actually Gary."

"Ok, I'll let you carry on with your little lie, but if I find out that you are lying, you'll be in a whole lot of trouble."

"Wow, does any parent ever trust their teenage daughter?"

"I just want to know the truth of why you were so unhappy all weekend, and then you come home and you're joyful again."

"Nothing was wrong this weekend."

"That doesn't explain why you had so many missed calls from John," she said in a quiet voice.

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "You looked at my cell phone? You deliberately went into my room and looked at my cell phone!? How could you do that to me!? How could you invade my privacy like that? I thought you were the caring and understanding mother? Now, I guess you're just like all the others. Leave my stuff alone!"

"I only wanted to know what was wrong, and I didn't go into your room deliberately. I was getting your dirty laundry. The phone beeped and I saw that you had forgotten your cell phone on your bed. I looked at it and it said that you had about twenty missed calls, all from John." She was still using her quiet voice, she knew she did something wrong, and she didn't like it anymore than I did.

I decided to let her off the hook, just because she actually felt bad about it, no other mother would feel that way, but I already knew that I wasn't going to tell her what had really happened that Friday. She would hate me, but hate him even more.

I sighed, buying myself time to think of a good lie. "We were just in a fight, well, we still are actually."

"Oh, I'm sure it will be back to normal by Wednesday. What was the fight about?"

I decided to go with something that she would like me to fight about with him. "He wanted to kiss me, and I warned him how dangerous it was. He fought with me about it, so now I'm mad at him."

"Really? You fought with him about that? Well, if it was only that, then I'm sure you'll be back together by Wednesday."

"I don't know what to do." I looked at her, tears pricking my eyes again. I tried my best to keep them back; I didn't want to cry in front of her.

"You don't have to do anything, sweetie."

"I don't know if I can trust him anymore, though. It scares me so much." The tears were almost too much to keep back, but I kept them back, fighting them hard.

"Why wouldn't you trust him anymore? Is it just because he wants to kiss you?"

I couldn't say anymore, I ran out of there and to my bedroom. I locked the door behind me so she wouldn't follow me in and I jumped on top of my bed, burying my face in my pillow, and crying until I couldn't cry anymore.

It was about six when I heard a faint knock on my door.

"Rose, sweetie, are you ok?" I heard my mom ask.

I really didn't feel like talking to her. I didn't say anything.

"Rose, will you open the door? Or do I have to ask your dad to open it for me?"

I thought about that, how bad she must want to talk to me, if she was saying that she would have my father break the door down with a little push, then she must really want in here.

I sighed as I decided I didn't want my door busted, and got up to unlock it. I opened it and saw my mother's worried face.

"What?" I asked, no animation to my voice at all it was dead. My eyes hurt and were probably red from crying.

"Oh, you look horrible. What is it that you're not telling me? There is something, I know there is. What is it?"

"It's nothing, Mom," I mumbled.

"Then why are you crying so much? Tell me the truth."

"I can't, I can't tell you. I can't betray him like that."

"Betray him? Honey, I don't understand what you mean."

I finally gave up on my attempt to not tell her my kept secret. I had left too many clues for a lie to cover, or for my lies to cover. My imagination was horrible, and she knew it. And having her be able to tell when I'm lying didn't help it at all. So I told her everything.

Her face was frozen for the whole time after I had mentioned that he had started kissing me in the car. She was silent when I had finished my story, she didn't even move, and she barely seemed to be breathing.

Finally, she said, "So that's why you don't feel like you can trust him. Because he didn't listen to you. Because he almost killed himself, and you at the same time. Because he almost took you away from your family. I think you are very wise not to trust him, I just wish you would have made a better choice to share your darkest secret to," she said, and she left the room.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I was sure that I was the only one that could hear it.

I lay back on my pillow and was silent. I couldn't believe that I had told her the story. I was weak at keeping things from people, especially from my mother. I could see that now more than I ever had. It was the secret that I was most content on not telling her, and I ended up telling her anyway. Weak. Horribly weak.

What's more, she thought I shouldn't trust John anymore. She thought it was a good thing. She thought that I shouldn't be his friend anymore. The one person that I had been friends with since infancy, about, the only person I had ever loved, and she didn't think it was a good choice to be his girlfriend anymore, let alone his friend. She pretty much wanted me to either forget about him completely, or… actually, there pretty much isn't an 'or' side to what she wanted me to do, what she thought I should do… What I thought I should do…

But thinking things and doing things are two completely different verbs. Saying I'm going to forget John is a lot easier than actually forgetting him. I had loved him for so long, and to suddenly forget him, it would be almost impossible to do, but, if I had to, I think I could be able to do it. And the situation had demanded that I do.

I decided I would see John one more time, tell him my decision; see him once more before my decision was in affect. Tell him my goodbye, forever.

I took a deep breath and pulled my face together, I made it hard and strong, I would not cry when I was telling him my decision. I walked out of my room and only faintly heard my mom ask where I was going.

"I'm going… to decide." I walked right past her and out the front door. I walked to my car and got in. I had to try a few times before it started because it was kind of cold outside and the engine seems to hate me when it gets cold.

When it finally started for me, I slid out of the driveway and started on to John's house. I didn't think he would mind a surprise visit from me.

I got there and parked in the driveway. I looked around for his car, but I couldn't find it. I was confused about that for a minute. I went up to the door anyway and rang the doorbell. I smiled, as much as I could smile, at his mom as she opened the door.

"Hi, Rose, haven't seen you for a while."

"Hi," I said in the most polite voice I could achieve at this point. "Is John here?"

"No, actually, he left a few hours ago."

"Do you know where he is?" I was still struggling to stay polite.

"No, I'm sorry, he just kind of left, like he usually does. He doesn't talk to us anymore. We don't even know who he's going out with."

I looked away from her. I didn't want to tell her that I was supposedly going out with him because that was going to end tonight. I _was_ going to break up with him. I had to keep telling myself that, other wise it might not happen.

"Well, I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll just talk to him at school I guess."

"Ok, sorry I couldn't help very much. Goodnight, have a safe ride home."

"I will, night," I said half-heartedly. I was disappointed with how it had ended up as tonight.

I trudged slowly to my car. I stalled, waiting to see if he would come in the driveway while I was still there. But I couldn't sit there for ever, that would look creepy to everyone, even me. I sighed as I pulled out of the driveway and started on my way home.

I wasn't that far away from his house when I noticed a lone car on the side of the street. At first I only glanced at it, but then I realized that I recognized the car. It took me a moment before I remembered where I had seen it before. It was John's car.

I felt my eyebrows pull down in confusion. What was his car doing here? I pulled up behind it and got out of the car to investigate. I walked around to the driver's side seat and my heart stopped dead as I gasped at what I saw.

There were two people in the car. A boy and a girl. I knew both of them. They were making out, the boy was touching the girl everywhere, almost on top of her, and they didn't even really realize that they now had an audience. In the passenger's seat was Cindy Harmon. And in the driver's seat was my worst nightmare. I watched as Cindy stopped and stared at me, and as the boy slowly turned his head around to see what she was staring at, confirming my fears.

The driver of the car, who is the owner of the car, who is, now and forever, my ex-boyfriend, was John. He stared at me for a few minutes, not really seeing me, but then his eyes lit up. Surprise brightened his face, it also started turning red from embarrassment.

I closed my eyes letting the small tears stain my cheeks. I opened my eyes again, staring at him for another minute, and then I took a step back, turned and started running to my car. I opened my car door just as I heard another one open behind me.

I quickly got into the car and I heard John say, "Rose, wait!" I slammed the door shut and pulled away from the car. I drove home quickly, tears still streaking my face.

When I opened the door to the house, slamming it behind me, I heard mom ask, "What happened now?" She sounded concerned, she probably knew who it was about, but she just wanted to know what happened.

"Forget it!" I shouted at her. My anger was seeping through, and I was taking it out on my mother. I decided to get a glass of… blood… it was still hard to even think, before my anger made my hunger unbearable.

I gulped down a glass, and then another. I filled a third and took it to my room with me. I also slammed and locked that door behind me. This time, I was going to cry and cry all night. I wasn't going to let my mom come in and comfort me tonight.

Darren did call me that night, like he said he would, but at the moment I was sobbing into my pillow and I didn't want to answer it, thinking it would probably be John.

Now I was ready to forget about John, now I knew I could forget about him. I was so angry at him, and I hated him so much, it was not going to be hard anymore. I could forget about him for all eternity, I would let him go, I would never think of him again, and it would be easy. Every ounce of my being hated him, pure hatred.

I did know that he would still try to make me be his girlfriend for longer, but I wasn't even going to listen to him. From now on, my only friends were the ones that I had just met today, and it seemed like a good place for a new start, a new beginning.


End file.
